Arthur and Martha, Elika, Eat Lights Become Lights - The Windmill

Well, it gets me out of the house on a Friday night, and I'm going to miss that when its all over. Took me over and hour and a half to get to Brixton this evening, I ought to go to more shows in Nottingham, its quicker.

Thought I'd missed tonight's opening act, Arthur and Martha, but they leapt to the stage a few minutes after I arrived. The first couple of songs were kind of like walkig alonga street where cars aren't allowed, but a few songs in, the one with the crackly speaker noise was was nice, and they found their groove.

Its a curved triangular gamut, with Saint Etienne, Younger Younger 28s, Stereolab nd Kraftwork at the points and Arthur and Martha wandering between.

Ooh, back track solo!

Sometimes cracking pop, edgy and new waveish, and sometimes dreary. I preferred them at the Buffalo.

My enjoyment of the next band was diminished by most people in the crowd talking during the songs. Mostly odd-shaped people, speccy twats and cunts with bags.

Imagine reader, you've paid five pounds to go to a gig, now arrange the following three things in order of priority:-
1. Listening to the bands on stage
2. Chatting to your mates
3. Getting pished
I'm not suggesting that these three things are mutually exclusive, just prioritise them considering when you do that you've paid five pounds to go to this gig. Now fuck off.

I've never killed anyone with a blade, but you know in the film Marathon Man, uncle Larry has that concealed knife up his sleeve so he can deftly slash an elderly jewish woman's throat when she recognises him in the street.

It would be a neat way to stop someone talking at at gig.
sh-ching
splurt
"This woman needs help, someone, please...."

So Elika, on stage, a little electro, Twin Peaksy Julee Cruise vocals, kind of droney.

The largest array of guitar effects pedals I've seen in months.

If I were drunker and the crowd quieter, it would be neatly hyponotic and overwealming and the sort of thing I'd listen to under smoke and multi-coloured lights.

Gah! I'd wandered outside to scribble between bands, and missed a little of the next band, Eat Lights Become Lights. The place is packed near the front, its dark and stark on stage, rock is happening, two guitars, a bass, drums and a synth, and no microphones. Yay.

Instrumental rock, throbbing basslines, squelchy effects. Warm, blissful darkness, rather happy looking lead guitar chappy, who seemed amused whenever the floppy haired bassplayer puts on his glasses to play specific lines.

They had a strobe light on stage.

Oh, I miss strobe lights.

Goonite Club: Arthur and Martha, Monster Bobby, Monday Club, Brontosaurus Chorus - The Buffalo

I was house-sitting earlier this week, they had a DVD player so I was watching the complete Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 16 hours a day. They also seemed to have my Amazon wishlist of books lying round, so I read this book called Tipping Point.
Its like one of these sociological / cultural / psychology for people books. I only got through the first 60 pages, giving some clues about why some cultural phenomenons become runaway successes and others don't.

From what I gather, it usually depends on a dozen or so factors all pulling in the same direction at the same time.

There are three types of people vital in spreading new ideas. The first one mentioned is The Connector, they're charming people who know everyone in many worlds. Not necessarily close friends with everyone, but charming enough to be remembered. Close ties between 'friends' and 'weak ties' between acquaintances. When these guys get it, a bit of news spreads quickly.

I'm not very good as a 'Connector', my charmingness doesn't come easily, despite the worlds I span.

The second person type was 'The Maven', one who collects information and is good at communicating it. These would be the people who discover the cool bands who are to be the next big thing that no one knows about, or who have figured out that Facebook has jumped the shark.

I too am not so good as a Maven, I back the wrong horses.

Sadly I never found out who the third person type was.

Apparently the 'weak tie' friendships are more useful than the strong one, cos there are more of them with a greater span.

First band on are Arthur and Martha, one of them is Alice from Spiral Scratch, when my musical masterplan comes together next year, I'll need them on my side. I think that by bribery, they'll learn to love me, and sort out the damned Spiral Scratch blog. That was the plan anyway.

But before I came out this evening, I checked my last review of of Arthur and Martha, and it turns out I liked them last time, but was sadly too drunk to be coherent.

Tonight though, I am sober.

They are the missing link between Bis and The Younger Younger 28s, and their last song sounded like Idlewild's A Tone.

This one time I saw the Younger Younger 28s at King Tuts in Glasgow, about five people in the crowd, including flatmate Nick, Joanne from Stonehaven and some broad with a notebook. The next week the gig got a rave review in the NME.

The next time I saw them was Freshers week '98 at Strathclyde Uni, I got chatting to the girls in the band, they said they were playing the next night in Edinburgh. So me and Nick duly trekked over and got chatting to them there too. For years I've claimed I snogged the cute one outside The Venue.

Monster Bobby on next, here tonight, the records show that me and Fiona thought he was pants last time, mostly due to the crap sound in Tuffnells.

Tonight though, the sound's better the place is a quarter full and there's a girl in the crowd who looks like Beautiful Laura from school.

He's the main driving force behind The Pipettes and a proto-Bill Drummond according to wikipedia. Sounds like a cross between Craig Pulsar and Denim tonight mind.

Final act of the night for me are The Monday Club. Three girls, well, the drummer is a bit borderline. But the singing guitar and bass girls sure can holler. Like Polly Jane Harvey reborn as slightly younger. Nice harmony bits and the bass player was really cute.

I'm not sure what it was, but I kept glancing at my watch, wishing they'd finish so I could go home, then I realised that actually I could just go home, no need to wait.



Bands
Arthur and Martha
Monster Bobby
Monday Club
Brontosaurus Chorus

Photies
Here

Arthur & Martha - Indietracks

Kinda electro, they have synths and drum machines. There is an electric guitar and slightly out of tune boy/girl harmonies.

Its a bit Stereolab. Warm, uplifting stuff. Droney shoegazing, a little bedsit-ish.

The girl singing discovers her soul half way through, at times the boy singing sounds like Ian Curtis, similarly, the melocia sounds like a harmonica.

Hmm, who does the "Sha la la" shorus sound like? Could it be Man Down Door, the classic Motherwell rock act?

Reviews
here

Photies
here
here
here
here
here
here